Christmas in Konoha
by TudeDeluxe
Summary: What happens in the houses of our favorite ninjas on Christmas? Find out in "Christmas in Konoha." Starting with the Uchiha house hold. Not a oneshot. Series Ends after New years.
1. Chapter 1: Believing

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!

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_**Christmas in Konoha**_

**_Chapter 1: Believing _**

Sasuke and Itachi were children at the time. They hardly argued like most children.

Most said because they were well behaved, they could have more realistically guessed it was because Itachi talked seldom and Sasuke worshipped the feet he stood on.

One day on a particularly chilly winter evening, the day of Christmas Eve, Itachi was coming home from training.

Outside the shadows coming from the lit house cast a lively pattern on the crisp crunchy snow as he worked to reach his house. As soon as he opened the door he heard the gruff voice of his father talking. If Itachi were more a teenager than a middle-aged man he would have grumbled, "Oh great, his _lecture_ voice."

As he came to the living room where they were, he saw Sasuke seated in a chair too big for him, his mother kneeling down beside him, and his father sitting across from him. "Now Sasuke," he began.

Itachi doubted they knew of his presence so he stood in the doorway. "…You're becoming a big boy now so you need to know the truth…" "Dear he's barely 6!" his mother cried to be silenced by an extended palm from his father.

"Sasuke…I know you believe in fun things, but now that you are becoming a ninja, you need to start seeing the world in a bigger picture. Starting with Santa Clause. Santa Clause is not real. He does not exist." "Yes he does," Sasuke answered quickly. "Then where is he now?" his father said leaning back staring hard at him.

"In the North Pole getting ready for tonight," he said as though it were the most obvious thing.

"And the Easter Bunny? Tooth Fairy?" his father asked trying to corner him.

"They're both in Bermuda working on stock funds. He and the Tooth fairy hit a major deal last year and if all succeeds, the eggs will be brushed and cleaned before they're decorated."

His father slapped his head. "Sasuke! They DO NOT exist. The truth is, we put the presents under the tree. WE hide the eggs and put change under your pillow. That was all us!" He exclaimed exasperated. Sasuke gasped. "You're part of the underground Egg society?" he asked, his eyes becoming wide.

His father steamed and his face grew red. _Itachi smirked, you just had to love that kid sometimes_. After a moment of meditation, his father said bluntly, "How can we prove Santa doesn't exist?"

After Sasuke pondered, a finger on his chin in though, he replied, "You can't.

Santa will come down the chimney with presents and leave them here under the tree." "We don't have a chimney," his dad said grumbling. "Hey, he never had any problems before," Sasuke said raising his hands and shrugging.

"Fine!" his father said rising to his full height. "Tomorrow, there will be no presents under the tree when you wake up; only when **_we bring them_** to you.

We bought those things and tomorrow you will get your **_head from the clouds!!"_** Sasuke stood up, his head bowed. _"Santa'll come…he always does," he whispered._ As he began to exit, Itachi faded into the shadows then transported to his room.

Despite himself he did feel some compassion towards Sasuke and his foolish revels. His innocence was cute in a way. He himself had long ago stopped believing, it was when he had not received that one gift at the age of 3.

Itachi laid on his bed closing his eyes and thought. Quietly the door creaked open and a tiny figure made it's way to his bed. After giving a gentle hug around his waist and having a wet substance drip on him, he disappeared. Itachi opened his eyes and touched where his brother put their cheeks together in his kindly gesture.

He felt the wet substance and analyzed it as tears. Itachi got up grabbing two kunai and a sack. He had an idea.

He crept to his parent's room. There his parents were grabbing all the gifts and taking them to the basement. He waited until everything had been carried. He sat there like a predator watching his prey.

His mom was falling asleep and his dad had still to bring down the presents because of multiple trips. As soon as both parents were in their room and the sounds of snoring rose in a wailing chorus, he stealthily went to the door and picked the lock with a kunai. The first one broke making him have to rely on the other one.

As the door opened, he slipped in.

He jumped all the way down ignoring the stairs, landing with a soft pat. There the presents were lined up against the wall. Being stronger than his father he loaded as much presents as he could and jumped up the stairs a few steps at a time. He went to their tree, which conveniently was next to Sasuke's room, and emptied the sack.

He arranged the presents as neatly as possible and went down again to retrieve the rest. As he arranged the last present, a sound arose from Sasuke's room. Itachi frowned.

The room was too open and if Sasuke saw it before morning he would ruin everything. Itachi transported back into his room and walked in long strides to reach Sasuke's. He calmed down his strides as he saw Sasuke rubbing his eyes and coming out the door. Itachi grabbed Sasuke gently and directed him back into his bed tucking him in. _That sleepwalking is a dreadful habit._ Itachi had hypothesized that if questioned, coming from the direction of his room was better.

As Sasuke stopped grumbling and lay peacefully, Itachi went to his room window, grabbed his thigh pack, and jumped out. He needed some air.

As he walked a little way close to his old training grounds the air changed slightly. Sensing another presence, he threw a few kunai at the area. A red flash dodged it. As he turned, he saw a fat man in red laughing at him with a jolly expression on his face. "Who are you?" he asked annoyed mentally but calm on the outside.

He held a shuriken in his hand. "Well, I think you know me," he said turning to retrieve something behind him. Itachi watched his back closely, observing him and when he turned around in his hands were a blue present wrapped tightly with a red bow on the top.

"Here, for your troubles," he said smiling and casually throwing the box. Itachi caught it and with a solute, the man was gone. Itachi tried to sense his presence but failed, then no longer cared. Unsure what to do with the box after determining it was safe; he went home and snuck back in his room.

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"OH MY GOSH!!!" a loud yell said piercing through the snow smelling morning air like a knife. 

Itachi grumbled. Today was Christmas. He blinked and turned beside him to find the present was gone. He then went back to sleep. As he closed his eyes, in the corner of his mind he sensed an attack. "TORPEDO ATTACK!!" yelled an obnoxious voice.

At about the speed of a torpedo a small figure knocked the wind out of his lungs and was jumping on his stomach. Itachi opened an eye to see a very happy Sasuke bouncing on him. "Get up!! You have to see this!" he exclaimed. "I would only tolerate this from you," Itachi said sounding threatening.

Sasuke ignored this completely and began working on him more rapidly. After another round of prodding he stopped Sasuke and slung him over his back.

As they walked to the tree, Itachi noticed the tree looked fuller, and some presents he didn't remember bringing. Among them was the blue box. Sasuke's parents were stunned in front of the tree. His father had given up the subject and though his mom was bewildered, she began making breakfast.

The smell of eggs and bacon wafted into the room. As Sasuke had a swimming party with his presents, Itachi picked up the blue gift and read the card attached to it.

It said, "Thanks for the help. Sorry it's late, but you'd be surprised how hard it is to find. If you need something, call me on my mobile fax." Itachi opened the box slowly tearing the paper carefully to find the gift. THE gift.

It was the "ninja deluxe pack" he had always wanted as a child but never asked for. He had only asked that brightly dressed obese old-timer and it had not come. Inside were 2 wooden kunai and 2 metal kunai, a starter shuriken, a fake headband, and a fold out target board.

Itachi was well past this level, but he could not help but to show a surprised emotion on his face. "SEE SANTA IS REAL!" Sasuke squealed. Itachi gave him a small rare smile.

"Yeah, I suppose so," he said. Then he helped his brother look through his presents. He had given Sasuke a new kunai, and Sasuke had given him a lemon-scented polish for his headband, but he hoped Sasuke realized what he had really given him;

The gift to believe.

Merry Christmas Konoha.

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Hope you enjoyed it!!!!!! 


	2. Chapter 2: What I can do

_**Chapter 2 of my series. **_

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!

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_**Christmas in Konoha**_

_**Chapter 2: What I can do**_

It was high close to Christmas time. Actually 4 days away at the time. Majority of the gifts had been purchased, half of the things wrapped, and the other half stuffed in stockings. Finding anything now would be impossible, but one little girl was determined to find something.

A blonde girl who looked like a bundled up puff on the horizon was advancing up the snow. Ino was looking around in a worry. The people of Konoha were bustling mostly in couples and twos window shopping and browsing the stores. The window displays glimmered with lights and vibrant colors of green and reds with extravagant blues and yellows for accents.

Yet, as she went inside each one, they were empty. Ino would go inside each store with her big blue eyes glazing and come out with a doubtful but determined face. She could feel it getting colder and seeing a stray child like this was depressing. Her parents were nowhere to be seen.

After she had finished half the stores, she walked inside a food boutique and sat down trying to warm up. She was shivering and her teeth chattered.

Suddenly a hand tapped her. She turned around to see Shikamaru silently holding out a cup of hot chocolate. She smiled as he gently put the cup in her hands. "You're troublesome you know that?" he said smirking. Ino stuck out her tongue playfully and Shikamaru walked to his dad and grabbed his hand.

As he was lead out the boutique, she whispered, "Thank you Shika." He turned around and gave her a small bored smile and continued to walk. Ino was now more determined to find her goal. She finished the hot chocolate, which for some reason seemed more delicious than the one's she'd usually had. Ino began thinking about the gift she was trying to get.

Her goal was a special gift. Ino had money, but every store she went to did not seem right or good enough. _Candy? No. An expensive gift? No. _She got up and began walking. The snow began to fall again raining on her like tiny angels giving her wet kisses and decorating her hair for a wedding.

She rubbed her hands and continued to walk. "A food maybe? Or a game?" she asked herself. Due to clumsiness, she had walked straight into Sakura.

As they collided, Sakura stood up quickly and dusted off her present she carried. "Hey! Watch it Ino!" she said. Ino and Sakura were close friends at the time. Sakura helped Ino up and looked at her face,

"Hey, Hey! Why do you look so down?" Sakura said concerned. Ino forced a smile but before she could talk, Sakura put a hand to her mouth and stopped her. "I know you well enough Ino that I know when you're sad. You should tell me." As she removed her hand, Ino sighed and said, "I need to find the perfect present but I can't."

Sakura thought then said, "Why don't you make something?" "I'm not good at making things, I only know about herbs and plants and flowers." "Pick them a flower," Sakura said happily. Ino frowned and pointed out to her left. If it had been a movie instead of a novel, the camera would have zoomed out to show two little yellow and pink specks around an eternal abyss of white colorless snow. Sakura laughed sheepishly.

"Right…"

Ino began to walk away and waved.

She would never find the gift if she didn't keep looking. "Ino…' Sakura said stopping her. Ino turned and saw Sakura smiling at her. "I'm sure that you're heart will tell you the perfect gift. If your heart says it's the right one, go for it, and if they don't like it, they don't deserve it." Ino smiled moved by Sakura's words, "Thanks Sakura." "That's what I do," she said flipping her hair. They both giggled and went their separate ways.

Ino kept walking though she didn't know where she was going, she was still thinking about what Sakura said.

Suddenly she tripped and fell with a small, 'oomph' on the white snow. She had walked into the forest and tripped over a tree trunk. As she slowly picked her tired self up, she saw it was getting dark. Her parents may have started getting slightly worried for her. Ino sighed and continued to walk forward with her hands in her pockets.

Abruptly she came to a lake. She knew this lake and had seen it many times, but she had never seen it like this. The lake was completely iced over and the snow reflected off it making it shine. The sky seemed less gray in that serene atmosphere and the moon seemed to peek through the clouds. It seemed misty as if foreboding a good fortune. Ino caught a scent of evergreens that seemed to stretch for miles that mingled in the fresh fallen snow.

The place seemed magical and the frost glimmered like diamonds. It had seemed as though that lake had gone and in its stead a new and mysterious land emerged.

Ino didn't even feel cold! She looked at her small mittens and began walking to the lake at its center. She wanted to see where the beams of light crossed. As she sat next to it, she saw a flash of rainbow at its core and then something else.

At the middle was a rock, and in the rock was growing a dandelion. Ino gaped, not only was it one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen, but it was supposed to be dead! No matter how horrible and insulting it sounded to her, she knew it was the truth.

Dandelions never bloomed in winter. Ino carefully took the rock in her hands. The light in the lake remained, but the rock also glimmered. She would give him this, a flower and a sunbeam. She gathered it in a safe position and dashed outside the forest.

When she reached the village she walked toward his house and caught her breath. When she reached there, she knocked. After a bit of yelling and groaning, he opened the door. "Ino?" Shikamaru asked. She smiled and opened her hands to reveal her gift, "Merry Christmas Shikamaru." Shikamaru was stunned and unsure what to do. He opened his hands and Ino placed it gently inside them. He smiled a lazy but grateful smile. Ino smiled back and began to walked away. Ino knew her work was done.

For Sakura she got a new ribbon, for Sasuke a bunch of candy, but for Shikamaru she wanted something special. "Hey Ino," Shikamaru said stopping her. She turned and Shikamaru said with much difficulty, "Thanks…I guess you're not……….that…troublesome." Ino smiled bigger then she though possible and ran all the way home with a smile on her face.

Shikamaru and Ino were at the lake. It was full summer and they were both Genin. Shikamaru was cloud watching and Ino was relaxing with her eyes closed. "I think we should head back now," she said getting up.

Shikamaru ignored her. "Come on you lazy bum!" she yelled giving him a hard whack. Shikamaru rubbed his head.

The flower she gave him had long ago withered, dried, and wilted. Years had passed along with many seasons and Christmas', but somehow both of them remembered that one the most vividly.

Ino saw Shikamaru slowly get up after mumbling, "Violent troublesome women." "I wouldn't have to if you got up some of the time!" She still remembered the look on his face and the beautiful river. Every Christmas she went to the river and saw it in its splendor; her new tradition.

One day she would invite him there.

Shikamaru began walking and Ino began walking beside him. The trail was a forest covered in trees. Shikamaru stole a glance at Ino. Ino looked back.

They came slightly closer to one another and looked in opposite direction. Ino had never forgotten that feeling of wanting to get the best gift ever. Now, she felt she need something a little different, but yet the same. Shikamaru thought then smiled.

As much as he liked the gift, he preferred to spend his time with a more permanent beautiful yellow-topped figure in his future. Slowly their hands reached for the other until their hands intertwined. They walked still, but were smiling and blushing. They would hold hands, at least until they reached the village. Ino smiled. It was about time he gave her her Christmas present.

She thought about it then smiled.

And it was the best present of all.

Merry Christmas Konoha

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Hope you enjoyed it!!!! 


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